Boomers Find Reason to Celebrate With Vacations

(NewsUSA) – Let’s face it. For many people, getting older has less to do with chasing the almighty dollar, and more to do with enjoying special moments with friends and family.

Highlighting this point is new research by AARP showing that many of America’s baby boomers are choosing to celebrate personal milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays or family reunions by traveling rather than throwing a party or buying or receiving a piece of jewelry or other item.

Travel is the number-one aspirational activity for the boomer generation, says Sami Hassanyeh, AARP’s chief digital officer, We are seeing not just AARP members but also non-members who seem to prefer investing in a celebration vacation for their life’s special moments.

Currently, there are 76 million baby boomers in the U.S., and AARP (travel.aarp.org) aims to help this generation and its family members plan a vacation, by taking away some of what can arguably be a stressful activity. Travelers can now go to AARP’s travel website to find expert advice about activities, places to explore, travel tips and entertainment options, as well as how to stay within budget.

Not up for a lengthy stay away from home? How about a weekend getaway instead? One of the newest additions to the non-profit’s travel website is a section that includes itineraries curated by the experts at Fodor’s Travel. The collection recommends local escapes less than three hours from home, including where to eat, shop and stay, from popular locations including Denver, Washington D.C., and other places nationwide.

In addition, the website includes other tools and features that can help you with your planning, such as:

* Questions designed to deliver ideas and recommendations for destinations.

* A personal page that allows you to save and organize trip ideas, itineraries and related articles.

* Travel tips and online booking tools for hotels and rental cars through Expedia and Liberty Travel.

For more information about AARP’s research on celebration vacations and trends, visit www.aarp.org/celebrationvacations. To plan a trip, visit, http://travel.aarp.org